04-17-2007, 08:58 AM
[quote St. Bernard]I think your plan is pretty sound.
--I think the 4x 2.66GHz is a good, balanced choice of high-end processor
--I'd go with 4GB RAM at this point, then evaluate system performance to determine whether or not you need more. I'd expect that you'd see the return drop off pretty steeply beyond 4GB; I'm sure there are *some* performance gains, but they're probably not worth the expense.
--If you don't plan on gaming, you can probably just stick with the 7300. You sound as if you don't plan to drive two 30"--what monitors will you be using?
Thanks for the input. Right now I have a Dell 2405 LCD. A 30" display isn't in my
immediate future. I don't do any gaming, although I could argue that the Photoshop
work I do much of the time is my form of gaming.
[quote Filliam H. Muffman]The Radeon X1900 is an extra $250, but it is the fastest video card for most things and can easily handle HD video. It is $360 if you want to upgrade it later.
http://www.barefeats.com/octopro2.html
The Radeon is very tempting -- I had planned on it originally as I had thought
of using Aperture -- I have also done some 3d modeling and rendering in the past,
and have screwed around with AfterEffects and other video software (and might
again), so it's probably smart to get it.
--I think the 4x 2.66GHz is a good, balanced choice of high-end processor
--I'd go with 4GB RAM at this point, then evaluate system performance to determine whether or not you need more. I'd expect that you'd see the return drop off pretty steeply beyond 4GB; I'm sure there are *some* performance gains, but they're probably not worth the expense.
--If you don't plan on gaming, you can probably just stick with the 7300. You sound as if you don't plan to drive two 30"--what monitors will you be using?
Thanks for the input. Right now I have a Dell 2405 LCD. A 30" display isn't in my
immediate future. I don't do any gaming, although I could argue that the Photoshop
work I do much of the time is my form of gaming.
[quote Filliam H. Muffman]The Radeon X1900 is an extra $250, but it is the fastest video card for most things and can easily handle HD video. It is $360 if you want to upgrade it later.
http://www.barefeats.com/octopro2.html
The Radeon is very tempting -- I had planned on it originally as I had thought
of using Aperture -- I have also done some 3d modeling and rendering in the past,
and have screwed around with AfterEffects and other video software (and might
again), so it's probably smart to get it.